Department for Education

Schools: Uniforms

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the availability of school uniform grants in each local authority in England.

Nick Gibb: The information requested is not held centrally as the Department does not collect figures on the number of local authorities that offer uniform grants. In England, some local authorities provide discretionary grants to help with buying school uniforms. Local authorities that offer these grants set their own criteria for eligibility.Schools may also offer individual clothing schemes, such as offering second-hand uniform at reduced prices. This would be a decision for the school to make.The Department’s non-statutory guidance on school uniform places extra emphasis on the need for schools to give highest priority to cost considerations. No school uniform should be so expensive as to leave pupils or their families feeling unable to apply to, or attend, a school of their choice, due to the cost of the uniform.The Department’s guidance on school uniform is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform.

Schools: Uniforms

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is his policy on placing his Department’s guidance on school uniform on a statutory footing.

Nick Gibb: The Department intends to put the school uniform guidance on a statutory footing when a suitable legislative opportunity arises.The Department’s guidance on school uniform is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-uniform.

Classroom Assistants: Nottinghamshire

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants have been employed in secondary schools in Nottinghamshire in each of the last three years for which data are available.

Nick Gibb: The following table provides the full-time equivalent (FTE) number of teaching assistants in service in state funded secondary schools in Nottinghamshire and England, as at November in each of the latest three years: 2016[1]20172018Nottinghamshire[2]695706688England49,66347,35845,918Source: School Workforce Census. [1] 2016 figures for the Nottinghamshire local authority exclude 2 out of 46 schools that did not provide a return for teaching assistant numbers.[2] Excludes estimates for missing schools and centrally employed staff.

Post-18 Education and Funding Review

Dr Roberta Blackman-Woods: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which universities (a) Philip Augar and (b) members of the associated panel visited during the Post-18 review of education and funding.

Chris Skidmore: I refer the hon. Member for the City of Durham to the answer I gave on 26 June 2019 to Question 267762.

Children in Care

Ann Coffey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the number of looked-after children who were taken into care as a result of their mother receiving a custodial sentence in each of the last five years.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested is not held centrally.

Pupil Premium: Cambridgeshire

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the amount of pupil premium funding provided to schools in (a) Cambridgeshire (b) the Peterborough constituency in each year since 2011.

Nadhim Zahawi: Pupil Premium allocations are published annually on GOV.UK. The figures are available through the links below, for each financial year since 2011.This link shows Pupil Premium allocations for 2011-12:http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130123124929/http://www.education.gov.uk/schools/adminandfinance/financialmanagement/schoolsrevenuefunding/settlement2012pupilpremium/a0075963/pupil-premium-2011-12. This link shows Pupil Premium allocations for 2012-13:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-funding-tables-2012-to-2013. This link shows Pupil Premium allocations for 2013-14:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2013-to-2014-final-allocation-tables. This link shows Pupil Premium allocations for 2014-15:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2014-to-2015-final-allocations. This link shows Pupil Premium allocations for 2015-16:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-2015-to-2016-allocations. This link shows Pupil Premium allocations for 2016-17:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2016-to-2017. This link shows Pupil Premium allocations for 2017-18:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2017-to-2018. This link shows Pupil Premium allocations for 2018-19:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-conditions-of-grant-2018-to-2019. This link shows Pupil Premium allocations for 2019-20:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pupil-premium-allocations-and-conditions-of-grant-2019-to-2020.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Gaza: Hamas

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his international counterparts on Hamas's rule in Gaza.

Dr Andrew Murrison: We regularly discuss Gaza with international counterparts, and in the UN Security Council. Our position on Hamas has not changed: Hamas must renounce violence, recognise Israel and accept previously signed agreements. We call on those in the region with influence over Hamas to encourage Hamas to take these steps. Hamas’s ongoing decision to embrace violence and reject the Quartet Principles lies at the heart of the Gazan tragedy. We need a durable agreement that addresses the underlying causes of the conflict and transforms the situation in Gaza.

Gaza: Armed Conflict

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his international counterparts on reports set out in the BBC documentary, One day in Gaza, that Hamas transported Gazan civilians to violent areas on the border with Israel last year.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The British Government has regular discussions with international counterparts about the situation in Gaza. Whilst Palestinians have the right to peaceful protest, we have been clear that Hamas exploited the border protests for their own benefit. Their incitement of violence is unacceptable. When I visited Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories in May, I pressed the importance of Israel, the Palestinian Authority and international partners working together to ensure a durable solution for Gaza.

Palestinians: Politics and Government

Douglas Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the implications of fighting between Hamas and Fatah for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The UK views the Palestinian Authority (PA) as the legitimate representatives of the Palestinian people. We are supportive of Fatah-Hamas reconciliation attempts, and of the PA returning to resume government functions in Gaza. The UK will continue to urge the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution and to take the necessary practical steps towards a two-state solution.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether requests were made for Ministers to meet with Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe ahead of (a) his visit to Tehran on 19 November 2018 and (b) the Minister of State for the Middle East and North Africa's visit to Tehran on 22-23 June 2019; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Ahead of the Foreign Secretary’s visit to Tehran in November 2018, a request was made for a meeting with Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe. Iran continues to deny consular access, as it does not recognise dual nationality. Nonetheless, we continue to request it. During our visits to Tehran, the Foreign Secretary and I underlined our deep concern about the treatment of Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe and other British-Iranian dual nationals detained in Iran, and reiterated our request for their release.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to secure a British consular visit to assess the health and wellbeing of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The British Government remains extremely concerned about the welfare of British-Iranian nationals detained in Iran, including Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe. We continue to raise Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s case with the Iranian Government at every opportunity, which includes making requests for consular access. I did exactly this during my visit to Tehran on 23 June. We continue to work to secure her unconditional release.​

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assistance his Department can provide to Richard Ratcliffe to obtain a visa to visit his wife, Nazanin Zaghari Ratcliffe, in prison in Iran.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is for Iran to decide whether Mr Ratcliffe meets their visa criteria. We do not interfere with other states’ visa processes, just as the UK would not accept interference in our immigration system.We are in regular contact with Mr Ratcliffe, and continue to call for Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s release at the highest levels.

Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made in securing the release of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe following his meeting with Iranian officials on 23 June 2019.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Iranian authorities have not released Mrs Zaghari-Ratcliffe from detention in Tehran. The UK continues to raise her case with the Iranian Government at every opportunity and we continue to work to secure her unconditional release.​

Yemen: Armed Conflict

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with reference to the report by the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project on 18 June 2019, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths resulting from the current conflict in Yemen.

Dr Andrew Murrison: It is difficult to assess the number of deaths resulting from the conflict in Yemen due to our lack of access and presence on the ground. We welcome the efforts of the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project and others to estimate the impact of the conflict, recognising that sadly the true fatality figures are likely to be higher. We maintain that a political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and to address the worsening humanitarian crisis. All parties must engage constructively and in good faith to overcome obstacles and find a political solution to end the conflict.

Israel: Gaza

Mr Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the threat posed to Israel by cross-border tunnels dug by Hamas.

Dr Andrew Murrison: We remain deeply concerned by Hamas's attempts to re-arm and rebuild militant infrastructure, including the tunnel network, in Gaza. Such actions undermine efforts to improve the situation in Gaza and harm the prospects for peace. During my visit to Israel at the end of May, I witnessed first-hand the impact of Hamas tunnels and rockets on the Israeli communities close to Gaza.

Department of Health and Social Care

Carers: Vetting

Laura Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a)  self-employed and (b) other carers that work with (i) elderly and (ii) vulnerable people are DBS checked.

Seema Kennedy: The requirements for Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks for carers working with elderly and vulnerable people differ for those employed by a registered care provider, and those that are self-employed.- DBS checks are not mandatory for self-employed carers, whether the individual requiring care is eligible for a personal health budget or is self-funding. It is for local authorities to inform individuals who choose to use a self-employed carer that while a DBS check is not mandatory, they may still want to obtain one as part of their overall risk management plan.- All health and social care providers registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are responsible for checking the suitability of their staff. The CQC expects providers to undertake checks at the appropriate level for staff and volunteers who are eligible for them. They should consider the eligibility of everyone employed including contracted staff, temporary staff, bank staff, practitioners working under practising privileges, volunteers, students and learners and contractors. The CQC expects providers of the services it regulates to undertake the appropriate level of DBS check required for the care staff it employs. In all settings, the eligibility for checks and the level of that check depends on the roles and responsibilities of the job. The CQC has the power to take enforcement action if providers decide not to take up DBS checks on eligible staff, or if the provider cannot provide sufficient evidence of seeking appropriate assurances that a check has been undertaken.

Air Pollution: Health Hazards

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on studies undertaken by the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants (COMEAP) on the effects on human health of (a) PM0.1 and (b) PM1.

Seema Kennedy: Public Health England provides the Scientific Secretariat for the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants, an advisory committee of independent experts that provides advice to Government departments and agencies on how air pollution impacts on health. No assessment of the impact of PM1 and PM0.1 components of particulate air pollution has been produced.A comprehensive list of the Committee’s publications can be accessed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/comeap-reports

Food: Advertising

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department plans to publish a response to the consultation on Further advertising restrictions for products high in fat, salt and sugar, published on 18 March 2019.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the timeframe is for the implementation of the recommendations in chapter two of the Childhood Obesity Plan, published in June 2018; and if he will make a statement.

Seema Kennedy: As part of delivering measures outlined in chapter two of the childhood obesity plan, we have held consultations on ending the sale of energy drinks to children, calorie labelling in the out-of-home sector, restricting promotions of fatty and sugary products by location and by price, and introducing further advertising restrictions on TV and online for products high is fat, salt and sugar. The consultation on Government Buying Standards for Food and Catering Services runs until 13 August. We have received a high level of responses to the consultations and it is important we take the time to consider them carefully before we set out further action.

Silicosis: Terminal Illnesses

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on the number of terminally-ill people with  silicosis.

Seema Kennedy: The number of terminally ill people with silicosis is not held centrally. Terminally ill patients may be cared for in settings outside the National Health Service, for example at home or in hospice care.

Human Papillomavirus: Vaccination

Suella Braverman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending the roll out of the HPV vaccine to boys over the age of 13.

Seema Kennedy: I refer the hon. Member to the answer the former Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Public Health and Primary Care (Steve Brine MP) gave to the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Sharon Hodgson MP) on 13 December 2018 to Question 199808.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on wellbeing of prescription penalty charge notices.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential effect of the availability of free prescriptions on the medication compliance of patients with a chronic illness.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has analysed the potential costs and benefits to the NHS of increasing the number of free prescriptions.

Julie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of ringfencing money raised from prescription charges for the development of future medicines.

Seema Kennedy: The Department has made no formal assessment. Extensive arrangements are already in place to help people afford National Health Service prescriptions. These include a broad range of NHS prescription charge exemptions, for which someone with a chronic illness may qualify.To support those with greatest need who do not qualify for an exemption, cost of the prescription pre-payment certificates were frozen for another year. A holder of a 12-month certificate can get all the prescriptions they need for just £2 per week.Prescription charges are a valuable source of income for the NHS, contributing just over £575 million in revenue in the financial year 2017/18 alone. This funding is particularly important given the increasing demands on the NHS.

Diabetes

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of (a) Type 1 and (b) Type 2 diabetes in each local authority area in each of the last three years; what steps his Department is taking to tackle the prevalence of diabetes; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's policy on tackling diabetes.

Seema Kennedy: Data on the prevalence of type 1 and type 2 diabetes is not available at local authority level.The prevalence of both type one and type two diabetes, combined, is monitored and published via the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) and the National Diabetes Audit (NDA) provides information on the number with each condition separately at clinical commissioning group and general practice level. The QOF can be viewed at the following link:https://qof.digital.nhs.uk/The NDA can be viewed at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/national-diabetes-auditSteps to reduce the increase in the prevalence of type 2 diabetes are being led via the Healthier You NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme. This programme can be viewed at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/diabetes/diabetes-prevention/Significant funding and commitments to improving services for those with type 1 and type 2 diabetes have also been made in the NHS Long Term Plan. The NHS Long Term Plan can be viewed at the following link:https://www.longtermplan.nhs.uk/A first progress report covering early implementation of the Healthier You Diabetes Prevention Programme, including numbers of referrals and uptake in its first year, was published as a short report in Diabetic Medicine and can be accessed at the following link:https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/dme.13562

Poultry: Slaughterhouses

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what procedures the Food Standards Agency has in place to monitor and ensure compliance with Schedule 1, Part 5, paragraph 28 (f) of the Welfare of Animals at the Time of Killing (England) Regulations 2015.

Seema Kennedy: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) Official Veterinarians and Meat Hygiene Inspectors carry out general monitoring activities that include checks and verification of the welfare of animals. Welfare verification activities carried out by the FSA team on site cover all processes involving live animals, including verification of the business operator’s own checks to ensure efficiency of stunning. These in situ verification checks take place at different intervals throughout the production day. Post-mortem inspection of every bird destined for human consumption is carried under the supervision of the official veterinarian; post-mortem findings may indicate welfare may have been compromised during slaughter and related operations; findings are recorded and investigated when identified. Post-mortem inspection will generally not provide any evidence of consciousness following stunning if the required procedures were followed and the affected birds were stunned or killed without delay once the stunning was identified as inefficient.

Birds: Slaughterhouses

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many recorded instances or reports from official veterinarians there have been of birds entering the next stage of production while still showing signs of consciousness in slaughterhouses in England and Wales in each of the last five years.

Seema Kennedy: The following table shows by reporting year the number of instances that official veterinarians have recorded enforcement action following an incident when stunning was considered to be ineffective in poultry slaughterhouses:  Reporting YearInstances where stunning deemed ineffectiveApril 2014 – March 201523April 2015 – March 20168April 2016 – March 20173April 2017 – March 201812April 2018 – March 20194  The business operator must implement systems to ensure stunning is efficient. There must be Standard Operating Procedures in place which specify the action to be taken when birds show signs of consciousness or sensibility after the stunning procedure. Instances of birds identified and dealt with by the Business Operator in accordance to their own procedures will not be recorded by the official veterinarian.

Compulsorily Detained Psychiatric Patients

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have been detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 at (a) NHS and (b) private facilities in each of the last 10 years.

Jackie Doyle-Price: Information on the number of people detailed in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983 each year is not available. Information on the number of detentions under the Act each year is shown in the following table. In these figures the same person will be recorded more than once if they have been detained more than once. These include both civil detentions under Part II and detentions via the criminal justice system under Part III of the Act, as well as detentions following use of a place of safety order or after the revocation of a community treatment order. They do not include uses of short-term orders under Sections 4, 5(2) and 5(4) or 135 and 136 of the Act. Year detention startedAll detentions1National Health Service providersIndependent providers12008-0944,54341,4343,1092009-1046,60043,5073,0932010-1146,34843,3263,0222011-1248,63144,9853,6462012-1350,40844,9854,2572013-1453,17648,0145,1622014-1558,39951,9696,4302015-1663,62256,5947,0282016-17245,86443,0502,8142017-18249,55146,5522,999Source: NHS Digital (KP90 collection and Mental Health Services Dataset) Notes: 1 A person may be detained more than once in a year.2 Data for 2016-17 and 2017-18 are incomplete and should not be compared to previous years. This is due to the change in data source from the KP90 collection to the Mental Health Services Dataset.

Dental Services

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure people have access to dental care in the area they live.

Seema Kennedy: The Government is committed to ensuring that everyone in England has access to primary care dental services.NHS England is responsible and has a duty to commission primary care dental services to meet local need and, ensuring where there are shortages these are addressed.

Pregnancy: Smoking

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent steps he has taken to help reduce the number of women smoking during pregnancy.

Seema Kennedy: The Government committed to reducing the prevalence of women smoking during pregnancy to 6% or less by 2022. The NHS Long Term Plan makes provision for smoking cessation support to all pregnant women and their families in secondary care, and this includes a new smoke-free pregnancy pathway with focused sessions and treatments. In addition, Public Health England continues to work collaboratively with NHS England on the Maternity Transformation Programme to reduce the number of pregnant women who smoke.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is having discussions with the Crawley Sexual Health Clinic on accommodating some of the outstanding 40 per cent of PrEP impact trial places.

Seema Kennedy: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is provided by the National Health Service through the three year PrEP Impact Trial. Participation in the trial is on a voluntary basis and it is for clinics and local authorities to decide whether they wish to take part.

Dental Services: Children

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress the Government has made in ensuring that children receive regular dental examinations and treatment.

Seema Kennedy: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidance published in 2004 recommends that individuals are seen by a dentist at intervals set on the basis of their individual oral health. For children the range is three months to 12 months. The NICE guidance can be accessed at the following link:https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg19NHS England is responsible for ensuring access to National Health Service dental services and treatment.Latest data published by NHS Digital shows that 7 million children were seen by a dentist in the 12 month period ending 31 December 2018, which equates to 58.6% of the child population.NHS England has developed two initiatives are directly targeting children’s oral health. NHS England’s Starting Well ’13 areas’ programme is working in 13 high needs areas to reach children most at risk of tooth decay who are not already under the care of a dentist. NHS England has also introduced Starting Well ‘Core’, this aims to reach very young children (aged 0-2) and is championed by the Chief Dental Officer.

Fluoride: Drinking Water

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect on dental health of water fluoride concentration.

Seema Kennedy: Public Health England’s Water Fluoridation Health monitoring report for England 2018 provides the most recent comparative assessment of the effect on dental health of water fluoride concentration.For example, this report found that if five-year-olds with the most tooth decay drank fluoridated water they would have 28% less tooth decay and be 45 to 68% less likely to need teeth removed in hospital.The report’s findings are that water fluoridation is an effective and safe public health measure that reduces inequalities. This report can be viewed at the following link:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/water-fluoridation-health-monitoring-report-for-england-2018

Dental Services: Older People

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to improve dental care for the elderly in care homes.

Seema Kennedy: The Government welcomes the recent report by the Care Quality Commission ‘Smiling matters: oral health care in care homes’. The Department together with Public Health England, NHS England and Health Education England is carefully considering the recommendations made in the report and will respond in due course.

Foetal Alcohol Syndrome: Health Education

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to raise awareness of foetal alcohol spectrum disorders.

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to ensure that clinical commissioning groups commission services for (a) preventing and (b) diagnosing foetal alcohol spectrum disorders; and if he will make a statement.

Seema Kennedy: Public Health England (PHE), Health Education England and NHS England continue to raise awareness of the dangers of drinking alcohol while pregnant through programmes such as the NHS Maternity Transformation Programme, PHE’s Start4Life programme and Health Education England’s e-learning tool for health and care staff.Responsibility for commissioning foetal alcohol spectrum disorder services lies with National Health Service clinical commissioning groups. The Department has asked the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence to develop a Quality Standard to help improve diagnosis and care of those affected, based on the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network work developed in Scotland. This programme of work commenced this year.

NHS: Staff

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people are employed on a full-time equivalent basis in the (a) cancer, (b) cardiovascular disease, (c) stroke care, (d) diabetes, (e) respiratory disease, (f) adult mental health services and (g) alzheimer’s and dementia care teams.

Stephen Hammond: NHS Digital publishes hospital and community health services workforce statistics for NHS trusts and clinical commissioning groups in England. However, the information held by NHS Digital does not capture sufficient level of detail to identify those working in specific care teams.

Montelukast

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase supplies of the drug Montelukast.

Seema Kennedy: The Department fully understands that maintaining access to Montelukast is vitally important to many people in this country.The Department has well established processes to manage and mitigate the small number of supply problems that may arise at any one time.We are aware that one of the main suppliers of Montelukast 10 milligram (mg) tablets had a recent short-term supply issue. However, supplies of Montelukast from alternative suppliers remained available in sufficient quantities to meet normal demand. In addition, supplies of Montelukast 5mg tablets and Montelukast chewable 4mg tablets remained available.Supplies of Montelukast tablets currently remain available in volumes that are sufficient to meet historic demand. We are continuing to work very closely with all the suppliers of Montelukast 10mg tablets and the supply situation continues to improve with further deliveries expected over the coming months.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department is having with the Kings Chambers clinic in Cambridgeshire on that clinic accepting the remaining 40 per cent of allocated places on the PrEP impact trial.

Seema Kennedy: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is provided by the National Health Service through the three year PrEP Impact Trial. Participation in the trial is on a voluntary basis and it is for clinics and local authorities to decide whether they wish to take part.

Sportsgrounds: Health Hazards

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has made an assessment of the health risks of rubber crumb on artificial sports pitches.

Seema Kennedy: Public Health England (PHE) has not reviewed the health risks of rubber crumb in artificial sports pitches, as this is being assessed at the European level by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). PHE has been monitoring the evidence as it becomes available.The most recent ECHA report, published in 2018, stated that there was a very low level of health concern from playing on artificial pitches that contain rubber crumb, and ECHA note that they found no reason to advise people against playing sport on synthetic turf containing recycled rubber granules as infill material. The latest report is available at the following link:https://chemicalsinourlife.echa.europa.eu/are-artificial-football-pitches-safeSports governing bodies support the ECHA report and have produced advice in consultation with PHE. Sport England’s position statement on third generation pitches is available at the following link:https://www.sportengland.org/facilities-and-planning/design-and-cost-guidance/artificial-sports-surfaces/position-statement-on-3g-pitches/

HIV Infection: Drugs

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of funding PrEP through section 7a of  Public Health funding from April 2020.

Seema Kennedy: Full results for the 36 month pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) Impact Trial will be available in early 2021. Meanwhile, work is now starting to consider future commissioning for PrEP after the trial has ended, which includes consideration of commissioning routes.

HIV Infection: Drugs

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reasons SHINE sexual health services at Salford are not open for gay and bisexual men on the PrEP impact trial.

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that gay and bisexual men accessing the SHINE clinic in Salford have access to PrEP.

Seema Kennedy: Information on the reasons why SHINE sexual health services are not open for gay and bisexual men on the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) impact trial is not collected centrally.PrEP is provided by the National Health Service through the three year PrEP Impact Trial. Participation in the trial is on a voluntary basis and it is for clinics and local authorities to decide whether they wish to take part.

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: Overtime

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the total amount of unpaid overtime worked by staff in his Department in the last 24 months.

Jake Berry: The Department has not made an assessment of unpaid overtime. The Department has a number of policies in place to recognise the occasional circumstances in which staff might work more than their conditioned hours. These include the flexi-credit system in which staff can accrue flexi hours to allow time off at a later point should they choose to enrol in the flexi policy. They also have the chance to take TOIL (time off in lieu) for any additional time worked. Approved overtime is agreed with managers in advance and remunerated in line with our overtime policy.The Department ensures that the requirements of the Working Time Regulations of 1998 as regards civil service working hours are adhered to and has a commitment to the well-being of our staff which aims to ensure that everyone has a good work/life balance. We want to create a working environment that allows people to flourish and thrive through positive, supportive relationships which recognise the importance of individual wellbeing, and how this may be affected by working patterns and practices. The commitment of our SCS cadre to the wellbeing of their staff is demonstrated by the fact that 85 per cent have completed the Wellbeing Confident Leadership Training.

Ministry of Justice

Prison Officers: Pay

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department plans to publish the pay award for prison officers following the recommendations made by the Public Sector Pay Review Board.

Edward Argar: At this time I am unable to confirm when the response to the Prison Service Pay Review Body recommendations will be published.

Offenders: Electronic Tagging

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Government report entitled Process evaluation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) Electronic Monitoring Pilot: Qualitative findings, published 16 February 2019 whether the research in that report covers both male and female offenders.

Edward Argar: The Process evaluation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) Electronic Monitoring Pilot: Qualitative findings included both male and female offenders and defendants. A forthcoming quantitative process evaluation of the GPS Pilot will contain analysis of Management Information gathered over the course of the pilot, including by gender. During the pilot, there were 586 tagging instances involving 20 female wearers and 566 male wearers.Location monitoring can robustly monitor male and female offenders and defendants in the community, and provide an effective alternative to custody. If used as an alternative to custody the tags can be particularly effective in mitigating the disruptive impact of imprisonment on women with children. This is emphasised in our guidance to stakeholders.

Offences against Children

Ms Lisa Forbes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to safeguard 16 and 17 year-olds from being groomed by adults in a position of power and influence.

Edward Argar: I recognise that there are concerns about those who might abuse their position of power over a 16 or 17-year-old to pressure them into engaging in a sexual relationship. Such behaviour is very likely to be caught by the robust laws we already have in place. Any sexual activity with a child under 16 is a criminal offence, regardless of whether consent is given. Any non-consensual sexual activity is also a crime, whatever the age of the victim and whatever the relationship between the victim and perpetrator. However, we remain absolutely committed to protecting children and young people from sexual abuse and we want to ensure that existing offences are being used effectively to tackle this behaviour, and that those working with young people understand their responsibilities and act appropriately. My department, working closely with colleagues across government, is taking forward a review of the existing law, to check that that it is working effectively and ensuring young people are protected.

Prisons: Private Sector

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of procuring services for prisons in the private sector.

Edward Argar: The annual cost for private sector operated prisons that have been procured by the Department is as follows: PrisonContractorOperator15/16 Actual Spend16/17 Actual Spend17/18 Actual SpendAltcourseFazakerley Prison Services LtdG4S£48,425,005.16£51,970,141.05£54,556,862.31BirminghamG4S Care & Justice Services (UK) LtdG4S£29,625,016.19£21,301,059.54£26,107,663.62OakwoodG4S Care & Justice Services (UK) LtdG4S£18,224,143.75£30,129,179.72£22,320,715.58ParcBridgend Custodial Services LtdG4S£59,834,123.90£50,307,689.96£56,896,000.00Rye HillOnley Prison Services LtdG4S£21,936,086.30£23,219,028.52£24,643,663.78AshfieldPucklechurch Custodial Services LtdSerco£13,991,939.98£17,424,228.98£12,524,092.25DoncasterSerco Group plcSerco£14,035,689.4417,581,044.61£18,390,805.21DovegateMoreton Prison Services LtdSerco£37,334,239.19£40,414,432.72£40,385,837.55Lowdham GrangeLowdham Grange Prison Services LtdSerco£25,647,285.74£26,419,233.30£26,231,479.17ThamesideBWP Project Services LimitedSerco£34,430,177.00£36,692,427.64£36,458,230.67BronzefieldAshford Prison Services LtdSodexo£30,863,063.19£39,674,207.43£34,689,221.90Forest BankAgecroft Prison Management LtdSodexo£40,925,828.04£34,217,521.34£40,888,128.65NorthumberlandSodexo LimitedSodexo£24,975,506.05£18,223,623.78£19,634,565.69PeterboroughPeterborough Prison Management LtdSodexo£ 38,626,224.48£43,423,742.08£44,867,246.33 Monthly invoices are submitted for each contract and are verified by the Department in accordance with their respective payment terms. We continually monitor each privately managed prison and a full-time on-site Controller is employed by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Controller has regular review meetings with the contractor against a range of performance indicators. The Controllers undertake a number of compliance checks to ensure that the Contractors are discharging their contractual obligations. This Government remains committed to a role for the private sector in operating custodial services. The sector has an important role to play, and currently runs some high-performing prisons, as part of a decent and secure prison estate. A balanced approach to custodial services provision, which includes a mix of public, voluntary and private sector involvement has been shown to introduce improvements and deliver value for money for taxpayers.

Prisons

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of prisoners in each of the prisons in the 10 Prisons Project was in (a) the last six months of 2017 and (b) the last six months of 2018.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes monthly individual prison population and capacity information through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-population-statistics The table below shows the average level of prison population in each of the prisons in the 10 Prisons Project in the last six months of 2017 and 2018.   PrisonJuly-Dec 17July- Dec18Hull1025990Humber10511005Isis619621Leeds11131027Lindholme1002902Moorland1000959Nottingham983856Ranby10581008Wealstun820806Wormwood Scrubs12181147 The reduction in population in these prisons follows the national trend for England and Wales. In addition, several prisons across the estate have been operating with reduced capacity. This is due to a range of reasons, such as enabling maintenance to be performed and action taken in response to Urgent Notifications triggered by the Chief Inspector. The 10 Prisons Project aims to reduce violence in ten of our most challenging prisons by reducing the supply of drugs; restoring basic decency and providing the training and support for prison officers to challenge the behaviour that drives violence. The project received an initial £10 million funding to improve security and decency, and bolster leadership capability over a 12-month period.

Prison Accommodation

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average amount above Certified Normal Accommodation was in each of the prisons where performance was found to be of serious concern in the Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2017-18 in (a) the last six months of 2017 and (b) the last six months of 2018.

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of prisoners was in each of the prisons where performance was found to be of serious concern in the Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2017-18 in (a) the last six months of 2017 and (b) the last six months of 2018.

Edward Argar: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes monthly individual prison population and capacity information through the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-population-statistics The table below shows the average amount above Certified Normal Accommodation in each of the prisons where performance was found to be of serious concern in the Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2017-18 in (a) the last six months of 2017 and (b) the last six months of 2018. Prison20172018Bedford95104Birmingham327207Bristol178133Chelmsford171100Exeter162146Lindholme8142Liverpool4079Mount3-18Nottingham257186Onley-7-12Peterborough14088Portland2345Wandsworth610507Winchester192180Wormwood Scrubs8075 The table below shows the average number of prisoners in each of the prisons where performance was found to be of serious concern in the Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2017-18 in (a) the last six months of 2017 and (b) the last six months of 2018.Prison20172018Bedford370381Birmingham14001054Bristol514476Chelmsford720634Exeter483461Lindholme1002902Liverpool1082686Mount990990Nottingham983856Onley735727Peterborough896847Portland482508Wandsworth15531431Winchester660577Wormwood Scrubs12181147 CNA, or uncrowded capacity, is the Prison Service’s own measure of accommodation. CNA represents the good, decent standard of accommodation that the Service aspires to provide all prisoners.There are no prisons operating above their operational capacity in England and Wales. The operational capacity of a prison is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. It is determined by the Prison Group Director on the basis of operational judgement and experience. In addition to a reduction in the national prison population, reductions in CNA have been seen across many prisons in England and Wales for a range of reasons, includingenabling maintenance to be performed and other operational reasons, such as part of the response to Urgent Notifications triggered by the Chief Inspector. HMPPS operates a Performance Assurance Framework to identify and support prisons where performance is of concern.

Prison Officers: Standards

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of prison officers in post was in each prison where performance was found to be of serious concern in the Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2017-18 in the last six months of (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Edward Argar: The table below sets out average numbers of prison officers in each prison where prison was found to be of serious concern during 2017-18. Table 1: Average1 number of HMPPS band 3-5 prison officers2 in post in each prison where performance was found to be of serious concern in the Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2017-183.  Full Time Equivalent Average number of Prison officers in post… Between July and December 2017Between July and December 2018Bedford134174Bristol191194Chelmsford226232Exeter172178Lindholme219238Liverpool367351Nottingham292285Onley154167Portland149144The Mount151238Wandsworth286428Winchester193211Wormwood Scrubs2273161. Average of monthly snapshots, taken at the end of the month.2. Includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officer (incl. specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officer and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.3. Includes Public Sector Prisons only. Excludes Birmingham and Peterborough which are private prisons. Every public sector prison has an agreed safe, decent and secure operating level (SDSOL) which reflects the category of prison and the types of prisoners held. The SDSOL is central to the delivery of the regime in every prison. Since April 2017 Governors have been empowered to manage workforce planning locally and use this flexibility to set their own staffing arrangements. We are recruiting more prison officers across England and Wales as part of the Offender Management in Custody model (OMiC) and to support Youth Justice Reform. The majority of newly recruited Prison Officers are already on the landings, joining our officers who play a vital role in making sure prisons are safe, secure and decent.

Prisons: Security

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total additional capital spend on physical security was in each of the prisons where performance was found to be of serious concern in the Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2017/18 in the last six months of (a) 2017 and (b) 2018.

Edward Argar: HM Prison and Probation Service operates a Performance and Assurance Framework to identify and support prisons where performance is of concern. The tables below provide figures for the total additional capital spend on physical security in each prison where performance was found to be of serious concern in the Annual Prison Performance Ratings 2017/18. Figures are provided for capital spend on physical security in the last six months of both the 2017/18 and 2018/19 financial years (Table A) and the 2017 and 2018 calendar years (Table B). Table A – Total capital expenditure on physical security Oct-Mar Spend (£k)Establishment 2017/18  2018/19 Bedford00Birmingham*0213.5Bristol355.20Chelmsford99.70Exeter00Lindholme00Liverpool00The Mount112.80Nottingham058.9Onley00Peterborough*42.30Portland00Wandsworth00Winchester64.244.8Wormwood Scrubs108.133.1Total782.3350.3* privately run prisons 2017/18 Table B – Total capital expenditure on physical security Jul-Dec Spend (£k)Establishment 2017  2018Bedford00Birmingham*00Bristol00Chelmsford00Exeter00Lindholme00Liverpool00The Mount22.80Nottingham00Onley00Peterborough*042.3Portland00Wandsworth00Winchester00Wormwood Scrubs00Total22.842.3* privately run prisons 2017/18 Note that the figures represent expenditure on items above the capitalisation threshold of £10,000 recorded against capital budgets. Figures are subject to rounding.

Department for International Trade

UK Trade with EU: Exports

Neil O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, if he will list the 100 tariff lines on which UK exporters to the EU will face the highest tariffs in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal; and what the ad valorem equivalent tariff is for each of those lines.

George Hollingbery: If the UK leaves the European Union without an agreement, the EU will be required to apply its MFN tariff regime to all UK exports, in compliance to WTO regulations. At the moment, the EU has not given any indication that it will modify its MFN tariff regime as a consequence of the UK leaving the EU without any agreement. The highest EU MFN tariff lines will be on dairy products, meat, sugar, fruits and vegetables. Further information on all the current EU’s MFN tariff rates can be found at the following website: https://madb.europa.eu/madb/euTariffs.htm.

Eggs

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what steps he is taking to ensure that (a) animal welfare and (b) environmental standards in egg production are maintained after the UK leave the EU.

George Hollingbery: The Government shares the British public’s high regard for the environment and for animal welfare, and our current high environmental and welfare standards in egg production will continue to apply when we leave the EU. High standards and high quality are what our domestic and global customers demand, and that is what we will provide.

Prime Minister

Members: Correspondence

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Prime Minister, pursuant to the Answer on 21 May 2019 to Question 255260, whether she plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Christchurch, dated 18 February 2019 before the Summer recess.

Mrs Theresa May: A reply has been sent.

Department for Work and Pensions

Universal Credit

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many and what proportion of universal credit payments were subject to a deduction, excluding sanctions, in the latest month for which data is available.

Alok Sharma: Of all eligible claims to Universal Credit Full Service due a payment in Feb 2019, 57 per cent (840,000 claims) had a deduction. NotesDeductions include advance repayments and all other deductions, but exclude sanctions and fraud penalties which are reductions of benefit rather than deductions.Claim numbers may not match official statistics caseloads due to small methodological differences.Claim numbers are rounded to the nearest 1,000.

Universal Credit

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the proportion of universal credit claimants who have a deduction for any arrears in the first month of their claim for the last month for which data is available.

Alok Sharma: In February 2019, 2 per cent of claims which were due their first payment had a deduction for arrears. NotesFigure relates to Universal Credit full service.Figures are rounded to the nearest per cent.Figures included arrears for gas, electric, water, rent and service charges.

Silicosis

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the proportion of (a) construction workers and (b) the general population with silicosis.

Justin Tomlinson: Statistics are not available for the proportion of construction workers and the general population that currently have silicosis. However, statistics are available for numbers of annual new cases of silicosis assessed for Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB). Silicosis, along with coal workers pneumoconiosis and asbestosis are the most common forms of pneumoconiosis, which is a prescribed disease within the IIDB scheme. Pneumoconiosis cases not specifically identified as asbestosis or coal workers’ pneumoconiosis are mainly silicosis and the annual numbers of such cases newly assessed for IIDB over the last ten years are shown in the table below. Of these annual cases, those associated with the construction industry are also shown. The number of silicosis cases within the IIDB scheme is likely to be lower than the true incidence of this disease. This is because IIDB does not compensate anyone who is self-employed, and not all affected individuals apply to the scheme. Annual new cases of pneumoconiosis not recorded as asbestosis or coal workers’ pneumoconiosis assessed for IIDB, 2008-2017 Year2008200920102011201220132014201520162017TotalAll cases85806050404555253030500Cases associated with construction2020151051020101010130Note: values have been rounded to the nearest 5 to meet disclosure rules.

Lung Diseases: Occupational Health

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether occupational health nurses take the occupational history of their client into account when assessing people who are showing signs of lung disease.

Justin Tomlinson: As part of performing a competent occupational health assessment, the occupational history should be taken from the worker. Any relevant aspects of the occupational history should then be considered when formulating an opinion from an occupational health perspective in respect of that worker. As an example, the information considered when performing health surveillance of workers exposed to respirable crystalline silica can be found here: www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/books/healthsurveillance.htm.

Cold Weather Payments: Mansfield

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in Mansfield constituency received cold weather payments in each of the last two winter periods.

Will Quince: The Cold Weather Payment scheme is administered at weather station level rather than any other standard GB geography such as constituency level. The coverage area for each weather station is determined by the Met Office which assesses the most appropriate weather station for each postcode area. Cold weather payments are triggered when the average temperature recorded at the weather station has been recorded as, or is forecast to be, 0oC or below over seven consecutive days, during the Cold Weather season (November to March). The constituency of Mansfield covers all or part of the following postcode areas: NG17-21. The above postcode areas are covered by the weather station Nottingham Watnall. Qualifying individuals living in this area will have received a payment in respect of a seven-day period of Cold Weather, as shown in Table 1. Table 1 Estimated number of Cold Weather Payment recipientsWeather station2017/182018/19Nottingham Watnall168,0000 Nottingham Watnall weather station covers the following postcode areas, in Table 2, which include constituencies other than Mansfield. We estimate that 168,000 payments, to 168,000 recipients, were made in this area as a whole, in respect of one trigger in 2017/18. We are not able to break this figure down to a lower level. There were no cold weather triggers in Nottingham Watnall in 2018/19. Table 2 Postcode sectors mapped to Weather StationsWeather stationPostcode Sectors CoveredNottingham WatnallCV13, DE1-3, DE5-7, DE11-15, DE21-24, DE55-56, DE65, DE72-75, LE1-9, LE11-14, LE16-19, LE65, LE67, NG1-22, NG25, NG31-34. Notes The number of recipients and payments given here is an estimate as information on the exact number is not readily available. These figures are produced by determining the volume of eligible recipients in each weather station area at the start of the winter season and using these figures throughout the winter to estimate payments and expenditure based on the actual triggers recorded. The number of payments made is not necessarily the total number of individuals benefitting from a Cold Weather Payment. Any individuals making a joint claim for one of the qualifying benefits, such as a couple living together, will receive one payment between them rather than one payment each. Furthermore, if a weather station triggers more than once throughout a cold weather season then the recipients will receive more than one payment. Estimates of Cold Weather Payments are published weekly during the Cold Weather season. The latest published estimates can be found at the link below: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/social-fund-cold-weather-payments

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what account is taken of income from compensation payments under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in disability benefit calculations.

Justin Tomlinson: The disability benefits (Attendance Allowance, Personal independence Payment and Disability Living Allowance) are non–contributory and are not means–tested. No account is taken of income from compensation payments or any other income when assessing entitlement to a disability benefit.

Universal Credit: East Ayrshire

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the oral contribution  of 1 July 2019, Official Report, Column 903, what additional funding has been made available to East Ayrshire Council to mitigate the costs associated with the roll-out of universal credit.

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to her oral contribution on 1 July 1 2019, Official Report Vol 662, whether her investigation on the costs associated with the rollout of universal credit will consider the economic effects of that rollout on East Ayrshire Council.

Alok Sharma: New Burdens funding has been provided to councils to cover additional costs associated with Universal Credit. In 2017/18 the Department paid £13m in New Burdens funding and paid £14m in New Burdens for 2018/19. Last year we worked with a number of Local Authorities to refresh these costs resulting in £18m in New Burdens being paid in 2019/20. 67 Local Authorities received a total of £4.7m in extra payments to recognise alleged additional costs caused in the early stages of roll out. The East Ayrshire Council has received £169k from the Department in New Burden funding. We continue to work with number of Local Authorities to further understand their service costs to inform future funding requirements.

Disability: Children

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to co-ordinate cross-government policy on disabled children.

Justin Tomlinson: The Minister for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance leads on policy for children and families within DWP. To fulfil this role, the DWP works with a range of other departments to ensure the policy we deliver for children and families is effective. This role does not extend to coordinating children and families’ policy across government. On Tuesday 25 June, the Government launched a new cross-government approach on disability. This is guided by a vision where disabled people can participate fully in society and that recognises the contributions that disabled people make. To drive forward this approach, government will establish a new cross-departmental disability team in the Cabinet Office, and the Office for Disability Issues will be incorporated into the team. This move recognises that disabled people face barriers across a wide range of aspects of their lives and across the whole of the life course, including throughout childhood, and that coordinated cross-government action is therefore vital. The new Cabinet Office disability team will sit in the new Equalities Hub alongside the Government Equalities Office and the Race Disparity Unit. Together they will be better equipped to understand that people are often affected by multiple discriminations and disadvantages and to drive meaningful progress on equality. The team will work closely with disabled people, disabled people’s organisations and charities to take forward this new approach to disability, with their views and experiences at the forefront of any new policy. In addition, part of the role of the Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work is to work across government to encourage the development of policies to tackle the barriers disabled people face to realising their full participation in society. Whilst disability policy is the responsibility of all Departments, by working together we can improve disabled peoples’ participation, for which we are jointly responsible.

Department for Work and Pensions: Overtime

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the total amount of unpaid overtime worked by staff in her Department in the last 24 months.

Will Quince: The DWP does not expect its employees to work unpaid overtime.

Universal Credit

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will publish the (a) forecast number of new claims for universal credit between April 2018 and March 2019, (b) date on which that forecast was made and (c) actual number of new claims made during that period.

Alok Sharma: The information requested is not available as the Department does not forecast new claims to Universal Credit. The actual number of claims made between April 2018 and March 2019 can be found under the ‘Claims to Universal Credit’ dataset available at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/Guidance on how to extract the information required can be found at: https://stat-xplore.dwp.gov.uk/webapi/online-help/Getting-Started.html

Electronic Government: Proof of Identity

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the viability of the Verify scheme; and what role the private sector is planned to play in the future of that scheme.

Alok Sharma: The Government Digital Service (GDS) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have been working together on improvements to GOV.UK Verify for access to DWP digital services and the number of claimants who are successful when attempting to use GOV.UK Verify is steadily increasing. DWP will continue to consider options to provide the easiest and most secure digital services for claimants and as such we're considering a range of other identity verification options which are easy to use and cost-effective for the Department. The Verify solution is part of the suite of products offered in this area. The assessment of all DWP identity solutions is a continuous process to ensure that we are meeting customer needs in the most cost effective way. Discussions between Cabinet Office Government Digital Services, the owners of GOV.UK Verify are ongoing as to the role of the private sector post March 2020 and DWP, alongside all other Departments that use GOV.UK Verify, will be engaging in those conversations at the appropriate time.

Pension Credit

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to increase the take-up of pension credit among people without internet access.

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to engage with local organisations in Lincoln to increase the take-up of pension credit in that city.

Guy Opperman: Pension Credit is an important benefit specifically intended to help the poorest pensioners. There are over 1.6m pensioners already claiming Pension Credit worth over £5billion a year. However, the Government wants to ensure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled. We also welcome and encourage initiatives to promote take up of Pension Credit by national and local organisations who may often be best placed to understand the local circumstances and needs in the community. For this reason we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits. Organisations can use the Pension Credit calculator https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator to help people check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive. In addition, the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential customers; including information on https://gov.uk/, but also in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit. In Lincoln there are just under 3,000 pensioners already claiming Pension Credit. The easiest way to make a claim is by telephone. People can telephone either the Pension Service helpline for general enquiries on 0800 731 0469 or those wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234.

Pension Credit: Lincoln

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average amount of unclaimed pension credit is per eligible claimant in the constituency of Lincoln in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Karen Lee: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate she has made of the number of potentially eligible claimants of pension credit who have not claimed that benefit in the constituency of Lincoln in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Guy Opperman: The information requested on the number of potentially eligible claimants of pension credit who have not claimed the benefit and the average amount of unclaimed pension credit per eligible claimant in the constituency of Lincoln is not available at constituency level. Official statistics on the take-up of income related benefits at Great Britain level, including pension credit, can be found in the ‘Income-related benefits: estimates of take-up 2016 to 2017’ publication. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/income-related-benefits-estimates-of-take-up-financial-year-2016-to-2017

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the number of disabled car parking spaces at each assessment centre for (a) personal independence payments and (b) employment and support allowance.

Justin Tomlinson: Ensuring our assessment services are accessible to all claimants is a priority in line with the standards under the Equality Act 2010. Where claimants are not able to access particular assessment centre, our assessment providers provide alternative means of delivering the service. There is no requirement to provide on-site parking. All assessment providers delivering the Work Capability Assessment and Personal Independence Payment assessments are required to consider the needs of claimants such as proximity to public transport routes and access to suitable parking e.g. Blue Badge parking. Individuals can claim the cost of public and private transport from their current address plus parking fees. Taxi fares can also be claimed if customers cannot travel by public transport due to their health condition or disability. The assessment provider will try and meet any such reasonable requests. Individuals will be issued details about the assessment centre, if they are unable to attend or have any concerns they should contact the assessment provider.

Local Housing Allowance

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of uprating local housing allowance rates from April 2020; and if she plans to bring forward proposals to extend the current exemption from the shared accommodation rate for people who have lived in a homeless hostel to include people aged 18 to 25 years-old.

Will Quince: There are no current plans to extend or maintain the Benefit Freeze after March 2020. Specific decisions on how to uprate the Local Housing Allowance rates from April 2020 will form part of the discussions in support of fiscal events later this year. There is an exemption from the shared accommodation rate for those aged 25-34 who have previously spent 3 months (which doesn’t have to be continuous) in a homeless hostel/hostels specialising in rehabilitation and resettlement. There are no plans to extend this exemption to those under the age of 25. For other individuals who may require more support and whose circumstances may make it difficult for them to share accommodation, Discretionary Housing Payments are available.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Pollinators: Midlands

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent steps his Department has taken in the Midlands to support pollinators.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The National Pollinator Strategy sets out actions taken across the country to support pollinators, underpinned by partnership delivery at the local level. Grow Wild at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, are working on a range of projects re-creating habitats across the Midlands. Natural England are working with conservation organisations and landowners on the Back from the Brink programme, a £7.7m partnership funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and others to put over 100 priority species on the road to recovery by 2020. Two Back from the Brink projects are supporting pollinators in the Midlands. On 28 June, Butterfly Conservation, the project lead, announced that reintroduction work through the ‘Roots of Rockingham’ project in Rockingham Forest, Northamptonshire, has seen the Chequered Skipper become the first previously extinct butterfly to have bred successfully in an English woodland for more than 40 years. Butterfly Conservation also lead Back from the Brink’s ‘Limestone’s Living Legacies’ project, working with landowners from the Cotswolds to Warmington in the West Midlands to restore and manage a network of limestone grassland sites which will provide suitable habitat to many species of pollinators. The Government is also supporting the development and testing of pollinator habitat mapping to help voluntary bodies and land managers to create pollinator-friendly landscapes. This includes funding to support Buglife’s ‘B-Lines’ mapping project in the Midlands and other regions. In 2018, our Bees’ Needs Champions Awards recognised a number of councils and community groups from across the Midlands for their own exemplary work to support pollinators.

Environment Protection: Finance

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to 25 Year Environment Plan published on 11 January 2018, what estimate he has made of the additional financial resources required to deliver the commitments made in that plan for the financial years (a) 2019-20 (b) 2020-21 and (c) 2021-22.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Delivering the plan requires systemic changes across all parts of our economy. Our recently published Green Finance Strategy is an example of how we are driving this change by ensuring environmental risks and opportunities are integrated into mainstream financial decision-making; and accelerating finance to support the delivery of our environmental ambitions. A key pillar of this approach is our plan to replace the scheme of payments under the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy with a new Environmental Land Management scheme. As we leave the EU, we will establish a new scheme of payments to reward land managers for providing public goods, aligned to the goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan. In addition, the forthcoming Environment Bill will introduce a mandatory biodiversity net gain requirement for development. This will incentivise the avoidance of environmental impacts in development design, encourage the delivery of wildlife habitats in development sites, and stimulate the development of markets in habitat creation which will help to ensure that developers are able to fulfil net gain obligations off site when appropriate. We have also announced £50 million of funding for a new Woodland Carbon Guarantee to stimulate domestic carbon offsetting and incentivise new tree planting, and awarded £10 million of funding to four landscape-scale projects to help restore 6,580 hectares of upland and lowland peatlands over three years, with forecast 23,000 tonnes of carbon saved per year.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with reference to the Clean Air Strategy 2019, how much of the £3.5 billion allocated to tackle poor air quality through cleaner road transport has been allocated to projects in London.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: London has received over £147 million in funding from the £3.5 billion plan to improve air quality and reduce harmful emissions. This is on top of the money which has already been allocated to the Mayor of London for air quality in his £5 billion settlement.

Peat

Sir Graham Brady: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 3 July 2019 to Question 268974, if his Department will impose a moratorium on development on peatlands pending the publication of his Department's England Peat Strategy.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Development affecting peat is controlled through the Town and Country Planning system. The National Planning Policy Framework contains strong protections for habitats of environmental importance which planning authorities are expected to regard in their decision making.

Home Office

Police: Mental Health Services

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care to provide mental health support services for (a) serving and (b) retired police personnel.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the mental health and wellbeing of (a) serving and (b) retired police personnel.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the provision of physical and mental health and rehabilitation services to police officers and staff to enable them to return to full duties.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government takes the issue of police welfare very seriously and has invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. In July 2017 the Home Office awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund to the College of Policing over three years to pilot and, if these pilots were successful, roll out a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support to serving police officers and staff.Following two years of development and piloting, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) was launched in April 2019. The NPWS has developed evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources which can be accessed by forces, as well as individual officers and staff.In July 2018, we launched ‘A common goal for police wellbeing – to be achieved by 2021.’ This requires that by 2021, policing will ensure that every member of the police service feels confident that their welfare and wellbeing is actively supported by their police force throughout their career. The goal was published by the Home Office and jointly owned by a number of different or-ganisations, including Public Health England. This goal represents the result of six months of engagement by the Home Office with policing partners and health experts, setting out a shared vision for ensuring police officers and staff have the support they need to flourish.

Police: Retirement

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to support police personnel in their transition from service to retirement.

Mr Nick Hurd: The management and welfare of police officers and members of police staff is the responsibility of Chief Constables. Provisions are in place for police officers and staff to benefit from comprehensive and valuable pension arrangements in retirement, which reflect the nature of the role, including provision for ill-health retirement and injury benefits where appropriate.

Police: Suicide

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) serving and (b) retired police personnel have died by suicide in each year since 1997.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested.The Office for National Statistics publish data on suicide by occupation in England. The latest release can be found here:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/datasets/suicidebyoccupationenglandsupplementarydatatables

Police: Mental Health

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) serving and (b) retired police personnel have been diagnosed with work related (i) stress, (ii) depression, (iii) anxiety and (iv) PTSD in each year since 1997.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the number of police officers and staff working for long periods of intensity and stress beyond their contracted working hours.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what estimate he has made of the number of work days lost by police personnel on sick leave due to (a) stress, (b) depression, (c) anxiety and (d) PTSD in each year since 1997.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent estimate he has made of the average annual number of police personnel who are unable to return to duties following work-related (a) physical and (b) mental illness.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Home Office does not centrally hold the information requested.

Police

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he is taking steps to create a day of recognition for the service and sacrifice of police force personnel; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Nick Hurd: The Government deeply values the dedication and sacrifice of police force personnel up and down the country.The Home Office fully supports a number of memorials, including the existing National Police Memorial Day, the UK Police Memorial and the annual Emergency Services Festival of Thanksgiving and the UK’s Emergency Services Day (999 Day). The Home Office does not currently plan to create a further day of recognition for the service and sacrifice of police force personnel.

Police: Mental Health

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the work/life balance of serving police personnel.

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that police personnel with primary caring responsibilities have access to flexible working.

Mr Nick Hurd: Police forces have a statutory duty to manage the working time and welfare of officers, including collecting and monitoring good management data to help them make the best decisions to ensure the welfare of all officers and staff.Officers can request to work flexibly, which can help them manage their home life commitments. The College of Policing encourages forces to have flexible working policies in place with a range of options available that support the needs of officers and operational demands.

Police: Retirement

Esther McVey: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will create a police covenant to provide retired and serving police personnel with the same level of support and respect as armed forces personnel.

Mr Nick Hurd: This Government could not be clearer about the value we place on the role of police officers in cutting crime and keeping our local communities safe. We owe our police officers and staff a debt of gratitude for the courage, commit-ment and dedication they demonstrate in carrying out their duties.The Government takes the issue of police welfare very seriously and has invested in programmes which offer help directly to officers and staff. In July 2017 the Home Office awarded £7.5 million from the Police Transformation Fund to the College of Policing over three years to pilot and, if these pilots were successful, roll out a dedicated national service to help provide enhanced welfare support to serving police officers and staff. Following two years of development and piloting, the National Police Wellbeing Service (NPWS) was launched in April 2019. The NPWS has developed evidence-based guidance, advice, tools and resources which can be accessed by forces, as well as individual officers and staff.In July 2018, we launched ‘A common goal for police wellbeing – to be achieved by 2021.’ This requires that by 2021, policing will ensure that every member of the police service feels confident that their welfare and wellbeing is actively supported by their police force throughout their career. The goal was published by the Home Office and jointly owned by a number of different or-ganisations, including Public Health England. This goal represents the result of six months of engagement by the Home Office with policing partners and health experts, setting out a shared vision for ensuring police officers and staff have the support they need to flourish.

Deportation: Human Trafficking

Edward Miliband: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many young people that were victims of trafficking have been removed from the UK after they reached 18 years of age in the last 12 months.

Caroline Nokes: This Government is committed to supporting victims of trafficking and the introduction of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 has ensured we protect those in need and target those committing this abhorrent crime.All applications are looked at on a case-by-case basis, with caseworkers giving careful consideration to the circumstances of each individual and no one who is found to be at risk of persecution or serious harm in their country of origin will be returned there.Unaccompanied child victims who are not granted refugee status or discretion-ary leave to remain are not required to leave the UK unless we are confident that there are safe and adequate reception arrangements in the country to which they will be returned. Instead, leave to remain is granted for 30 months or until they are 17½ years of age, whichever is the shorter period. Upon turn-ing 18, they are expected to return to their home country or make a further ap-plication to the Home Office if they believe they have a lawful basis to remain.The Government has also set out an ambitious funding programme to tackle modern slavery abroad. Last year the Government announced it would double its official development assistance spend to £150 million to tackle modern slavery internationally. This includes the £33.5m Modern Slavery Fund, which tackles modern slavery in key countries from which victims are regularly traf-ficked to the UK. For example, this Fund has programmes in Nigeria (£5m) and Vietnam (£3m). These programmes will help to catch offenders, support victims and stop people falling into slavery in the first place.The Home Office record the number of all individuals referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) and this information is published Quarterly by the National Crime Agency. This information does not distinguish an individual’s immigration status.Providing the information requested would therefore require a manual check of individual records which could only be done at disproportionate cost.

Migration Advisory Committee: Public Appointments

George Eustice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2019 to Question 273370 on Migration Advisory Committee: Public Appointments, if he will estimate the time taken to run an open competition recruitment process from (a) the point of decision to adopt that route to (b) a final decision on the successful candidate for that competition being made.

Caroline Nokes: The time required to complete an open competition differs between public appointments. Indicative timetables for each competition are published on the Public Appointments website.https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.ukChanging circumstances may cause the actual timetable to vary from that initially published.

British Nationality Act 1981

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Answer of 10 May 2019 to Question 15353 on British Nationality, what assessment he has made of the merits of amending the British Nationality Act 1981.

Caroline Nokes: We recognise the difficulties which current British nationality law presents for some British Overseas Territory citizen parents who wish to pass on their citizenship to their children We have engaged with the British Overseas Territories to seek their views on this. We are considering what legislative options might be available to make any changes should this be desired.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Overtime

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the amount of unpaid overtime worked by staff in his Department in the last 24 months.

David Mundell: The Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland encourages flexible working and uses flexible working policies to enable staff to have working patterns that suit both individual and business needs. Arrangements are in place for monitoring hours worked; line mangers are responsible for ensuring that employees are not working excessive hours and are compliant with the Work Time Regulations. The office is committed to the wellbeing of staff and regularly updates staff about ways to optimise their physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Treasury

UK Trade with EU

Tom Brake: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 25 June 2019 to Question 267154, what additional steps the Government has taken to ensure that all UK traders that only trade with the EU hold a UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number.

Jesse Norman: A UK Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number is only required by traders who wish to continue to import or export goods to the EU after the UK leaves if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. HM Revenue & Customs initially wrote to businesses who trade with the EU in December 2018, asking them to register for a UK EORI number. Subsequent “call to action” letters have since been sent to businesses.

Fossil Fuels: Subsidies

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings by the Overseas Development Institute in their 2018 G7 fossil fuel subsidy scorecard that the UK ranks 7th among G7 nations for transparency in its progress in ending Government support for fossil fuels; and if he will make a statement.

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the effect of reduced VAT for domestic fuels and tax reliefs for fossil fuel companies on the ability of the UK to phase out fossil fuel infrastructure in alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement and to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Robert Jenrick: The VAT reduced rate for domestic fuel and power is aimed at reducing costs on household purchases of several supplies of energy, including electricity which is generated from renewable sources. This measure helps lower the cost of household bills for families. The UK Government also places additional taxes on the extraction of oil and gas, with companies engaged in the production of oil and gas on the UK Continental Shelf subject to headline tax rates on their profits that are more than double those paid by other businesses. To date, the sector has paid over £330 billion in production taxes. The UK is currently a net importer of both oil and gas and even under the most rapid energy transition scenarios, the UK is expected to remain a net importer for the foreseeable future. Managing the declining production from our relatively small domestic basin, while reducing our overall usage of fossil fuels, is therefore compatible with our climate change commitments. Overall, the UK is fourth on the ODI’s 2018 G7 Fossil Fuel Subsidy Scorecard and is ranked first among G7 nations for pledges and commitments. Since the ODI published their report, the Government has signed a target of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 in law, becoming the first G7 country to set such a goal. Among a range of other actions, we have also launched a comprehensive global review of the link between biodiversity and economic growth to be led by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta.

Social Mobility: EU Countries

Alan Brown: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the oral contribution of the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury of 2 July 2019, Official Report Vol 662, Column 1054, which countries in Europe his Department considers to have higher levels of social inequality than the UK, and what criteria his Department used to make that assessment.

Robert Jenrick: The most common measure of inequality is income, and there are a number of countries in Europe that had a higher level of income inequality than the UK in 2017, including Spain, Portugal and Greece. Income inequality by this metric is lower today than it was in 2010. Such measures of inequality do not capture the benefit households receive from the Government’s significant and progressive spending on public services. In 2019/20, the lowest income households will receive over £4 in public spending for every £1 they pay in tax on average. While the highest income households will contribute over £5 in tax for every £1 they receive in public spending on average.

Community Interest Companies: VAT

Martyn Day: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of extending VAT relief to community interest companies; and if he will make a statement.

Jesse Norman: The Government makes available several VAT reliefs for charitable activities including zero rates for the construction of charitable buildings, sales of donated goods and charitable advertising. Under EU VAT law it is not possible to extend these reliefs to other organisations and while the UK remains a member of the EU our rights and obligations remain unchanged.

Royal Mint: Foreign Nationals

Clive Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many non-British employees are employed (a) full time and (b) part-time by the Royal Mint.

Robert Jenrick: The Royal Mint currently employs 9 non-British full-time employees, and 1 non-British part-time employee.

Taxation: Self-assessment

Paul Farrelly: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of HMRC on providing extra support to people new to self-assessment in order that they understand the deadlines they must meet and the steps they must take.

Jesse Norman: Treasury ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. HMRC provide guidance for all new and existing self-assessment customers via the gov.uk site. Annually HMRC publish notes on how to complete tax returns: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-assessment-tax-return-sa100. Newly registered customers will receive a welcome letter which will include information on deadlines and what is required of them.

Redundancy Pay: Public Sector

Toby Perkins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of  capping public sector redundancy payouts at £95,000 on (a) long-serving, (b) low income and (c) middle income public sector workers.

Elizabeth Truss: The government was clear during the passage of the primary legislation that the cap will have no impact on the large majority of public sector workers. We accept that there will be some circumstances where it is necessary or desirable to relax the cap. The waiver is in place for use in exceptional situations, including where imposing the cap would cause genuine hardship. An impact assessment was conducted and published in the 2016 consultation ahead of the primary legislation. A further equalities assessment will be conducted on the final version of the legislation. The government is currently considering responses to the consultation on the draft regulations to implement the public sector exit payment cap and will respond to the consultation in due course.

EU Budget: Contributions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the total sum that the UK has paid to the EU budget since 24 June 2016.

Elizabeth Truss: The EU annually publishes a financial report, which details the levels of revenue and expenditure, received and executed by the EU, relative to Member States. Between 2016 and 2017, the UK has contributed €30 billion to the annual EU budget, and received €13 billion in receipts to both the public and private sector.Additionally, HM Treasury produces an annual European Finances Statement which details the UK’s contribution to the EU over the past year. The latest version of that statement can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/european-union-finances-2018The OBR also produces an independent forecast for annual contributions to the EU.